by Irene Dageenakis

Created on: December 10, 2009

In this digital age, it is possible to download any kind of data to one's computer, if one has the right software. There is, however, a debate about whether or not such information should be accessed so easily. If you have no qualms about possibly infringing upon copyright law, then by all means, download. Exercise caution too, as some videos or information may have viruses embedded in them.

Personally speaking, I have had great experience with Firefox Internet Browser (made by Mozilla). There are different packages and themes a person can download to personalize their Internet experience. One useful "app" in Firefox is called DownloadHelper.

DownloadHelper not only can help download videos, but it can download other streaming media as well (though that is a subject for a different article). It is very simple to install DownloadHelper onto your computer. Go to the mozilla.com website, and if you do not have Firefox already, then install it first. Next, go back to the Mozilla homepage and search for "DownloadHelper". It should pop up in the search results, and after clicking the link to it, you can download it and add it as a side application.

You may notice an interesting red, blue, and yellow shape rotating next to your address bar. When you are on a video page, like YouTube, you click on that shape and a little menu should pop up. Click on "Download Video" and a box will pop up. It will ask in what format you would like the video. Click whichever format you wish for, and within a few minutes, your video should be downloaded. The only catch is to Tools on the Mozilla browser and go to DownloadHelper, then Convert videos and convert the video one more time (or else it will be incompatible).

DownloadHelper can also convert the same videos into different formats. This is useful if you would like to convert movies or videos you already have on your hard drive.

There are other ways to download videos. Some people prefer using torrents. While torrents are not illegal yet, they can be rather dangerous. Make sure you have good antivirus protection before proceeding. Then go to a site like bitTorrent or google some sites. After downloading a torrent provider first, then you can do to places like isohunt.com to begin downloading videos.

*There are some legal issues associated with downloading streaming media of any kind. Please make sure you abide by copyright laws.*

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